Most of my recipes were born out of ingredients that I got from the reduced section in Tesco. As an undergrad, after work, I would always go to the Tesco in the shopping centre where I worked to scour out the juiciest deals. Turkey mince was often reduced. So I bought it and then googled what the heck to do with it. Maybe that’s why it was always reduced? No one knows what to do with it?

Burgers! Turkey thigh mince is ideal for shaping into burger patties and flippin’ on the grill. Why more restaurants don’t offer them, I don’t know. I think turkey is perfect for mixing with garlic and spices – to me, beef mince often overpowers anything you try to mix in with it, but turkey is an ideal flavour carrier.

I took the tip of grating courgette into the burger patty mixture from the Hairy Bikers in their Hairy Dieter’s recipe book, where they make a melty mozzarella beef burger, bulked out with grated veg to reduce the need for quite so much meat per portion. This reduces your weekly shop costs and boosts the nutritional value of the burgers. Turkey can be quite a dry meat, so the courgette helps to moisten the mixture.

If you made the harissa lamb recipe and you have some harissa paste leftover, then this is the best way to use it up. This is such an easy recipe to make.

Mix all the ingredients apart from the oil in a mixing bowl until well combined.

Shape into 4 decent sized burger patties.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Remove the turkey burgers from the fridge. Coat in a light layer of oil and place under the grill with something underneath to catch any juices. Cook for 5 minutes on each side. Check your burger is cooked in the middle before serving - it should not be pink at all.

Serve with or without a bun, but definitely make sure you make some paprika wedges!

I’m not a fan of shop-bought coleslaw – I find it too claggy (is that a word?) and mayonnaisey (that’s not a word). There’s a place in Glasgow called Martha’s that does super healthy to-go lunches which usually come with their house-made slaw. I could be wrong, but I think they use yoghurt rather than mayonnaise, which I like a lot more! Don’t get me wrong – I like mayonnaise. But I can’t be trusted with it. If it’s in the fridge and we’re having homemade wedges, you can be sure that I’ve dolloped more mayonnaise on my plate than actual wedges.

Michael made up this recipe, based on Martha’s slaw, and it’s a far fresher tasting than shop-bought coleslaw. I feel virtuous eating it, knowing it’s not loaded with oil! Keep the mayonnaise for the wedges. Actually, don’t – I can’t be trusted.

This slaw is amazing in burrito bowls, in grilled chicken wraps, or with cornbread and my baked chicken strips! It almost has a ranch-style quality to it. It keeps for a few days so you can make a big batch and portion some off in your packed lunches.

Prep all your veggies - to shred the cabbage, I use a mandolin for ease, and I have a peeler that shreds carrots into thin slices, but you can use a normal potato peeler to create ribbons. Toss everything in a bowl.

This is one of my favourite dinners. It feels so indulgent that you’d never think it was so wholesome.

Salmon is full of omega 3 fatty acids, which are known to help lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. The NHS advise that you have 2 portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily, like salmon. The salmon here is lightly marinated in a ginger and soy mixture and baked in the oven until it is moist and flaky.

I cannot advocate potatoes enough – they are virtually fat-free, incredibly cheap, and 100% naturally gluten-free. So why shouldn’t they dominate a gluten-free diet? This mash is mixed with a splash of milk, spring onions, and a drizzle of deliciously toasty sesame oil. Mash: next level.

And I am ever the proponent of plenty of veg! I love all the colours in this meal. The simple brussel sprout does not have to be kept for Christmas – and it doesn’t need to be boiled and soggy. I roast my sprouts in the oven, helping them to release their natural sweetness, then coat them in tamari and honey.

You wouldn’t find this in a restaurant, which is why I love cooking from scratch so much – you can experiment with so many different flavour combinations and create delicious, hearty meals that cater to your specific tastes and cravings.

Mix your marinade and pour it over the salmon. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the brussel sprouts in vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes. After 10 minutes, place your salmon in a glass dish and bake in the oven (this should take 20 minutes, so you can prepare your mash and veg in that time).

Whilst your sprouts and salmon are in the oven, bring chopped potatoes to the boil in a pot of water. Boil for around 10 minutes until soft enough to mash.

Fry off onion and pepper in a wok while your potatoes are boiling. Keep an eye on the wok while you drain the soft potatoes and return them to the pan.

Toss in the baby corn and edamame beans and cook for a further 5 minutes while you prepare your mash, adding in splashes of milk until your desired consistency, then mix through spring onions, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle sesame oil in. Set aside and keep warm

Toss in carrot, remaining spring onion, tamari, rice vinegar, lime juice and sesame oil into the wok and heat through. By the time this is ready, your salmon and sprouts should be done.

On a gluten-free diet, Asian food can be very difficult to navigate. On the Facebook group, Coeliacs in the UK, I see so many people asking where they can find a Chinese takeaway that can cater to a gluten-free diet. Unfortunately, if you need to maintain a very strict gluten-free diet, you need to avoid all possibilities of cross-contamination, and most UK Chinese takeaways cannot cater to this, given the prevalence of soy sauce, which contains wheat. Additionally, most noodles are made of wheat flour. If you know of a great Chinese takeaway that defies this, however, please let me know!

Since his coeliac diagnosis, Michael hasn’t had a Chinese takeaway. But it doesn’t matter – because we can make it at home at a fraction of the cost, for a fraction of the calories, and a fraction of the time it would take for your takeaway to be delivered anyway!

We love our veggies, so this stir-fry is composed of a rainbow of cheap and cheerful vegetables, with a protein punch from the edamame beans and cashews. We’ve also found gluten-free noodles really difficult to come by, or the types we have bought have been a mushy, gloopy mess. Obviously, you could use rice noodles here, but they are often quite sticky, so we use gluten-free spaghetti in this recipe instead.

Tamari is a naturally gluten-free Japanese soy sauce, which tastes exactly the same as ordinary soy sauce, so a simple swap does the trick for any Asian recipe you want to try out. When I first moved out, I used to buy packets of ready-to-go stir-fry sauces. With a simple pantry stock of tamari, rice (or even balsamic) vinegar, sesame oil, honey (or vegan liquid sweetener), and lime juice, in the long run you will save money and be able to whip up your own sauces at a moment’s notice.

Meanwhile, toast the cashew nuts in a dry wok on a medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and toss in a separate bowl when they adopt a dark brown, toasted colour.

Glug vegetable oil into the wok and on a medium-high heat, fry the onions and peppers until softened, around 8-10 minutes.

Add the baby corn and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Toss in the edamame beans and carrot, cooking for a further 4 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients and toss together. Drain your cooked spaghetti (but don't rinse it) and toss this through the stir-fry vegetables in the wok, ensuring everything is coated evenly. Cook until heated through, and remove from the heat.

Did you ever have cream of wheat as a child? The smooth hot cereal is perfect for perking you up in the mornings. But, the clue being in the name, it is most definitely not gluten-free. This recipe is though, and it is the ideal substitute.

Michael cannot tolerate even gluten-free oats, so I try to come up with different breakfasts. I ate porridge all the time before we met and I couldn’t stand the phase we went through of eating expensive shop-bought gluten-free granola. I needed to find an alternative. And this is one!

I find baking with coconut flour an awful faff. It soaks up liquid like a sponge and I can never get it right. But I had bought a box of it and I wanted to do something with it. Incorporating it into this gluten-free oat-free porridge recipe lends the creamy, smoothy texture that you would find with cream of wheat, with an added coconutty flavour.

This recipe can be made dairy-free too if you use non-dairy milk like I do. Get creative with the toppings – I put maple syrup, frozen berries, almonds, and popped amaranth on mine.

I hear you cry – “I can never have a KFC again!!!” Good news. You don’t need to rush out to Tesco to buy their free-from southern fried mini fillets as a substitute, at £3.50 a box for 5 strips. 5 strips? How many people is that meant to feed?

These chicken strips are baked, not fried, which drastically reduces the amount of oil they need to soak in to crisp up. You might be thinking that baked means boring and all you really want is a good old fashioned KFC. Well, that recipe will be coming soon, when I overcome my fear of deep-fat frying things on my hob.

Whilst grabbing a KFC on your way home might be convenient, I’m not about convenience foods. I’m about cooking from scratch, knowing what’s in your food, and living your healthiest possible life, with occasional indulgences. So I like this recipe because it feels bad but it’s good.

Play around with the herbs and spices to your liking – this was as close to the KFC secret spices as I could manage. For an extra crispy coating, I suggest double coating your chicken strips.

For photographic purposes, I served this with crispy potatoes and sauteed peppers and onions with homemade salsa mixed through, but you can do yours with potato salad, pasta, sweet potato wedges. But don’t forget the ketchup. Michael was allowed ketchup with this one.

Place the cornflour, beaten egg, and cornmeal/breadcrumbs in 3 separate dishes.

Mix all the spices into the mixture of cornmeal/breadcrumb until well combined.

Coat each chicken strip in a light layer of cornflour first, then dip it in the egg mixture, and then roll in the spiced breadcrumbs. Place on a baking tray. Repeat until all the chicken strips are coated in breadcrumbs.

Sometimes I find myself in a rut, eating mainly Indian or Mexican food over and over again. This dish of Moroccan chickpeas in a spicy tomato sauce packed full of veggies is a welcome alternative! Served with a side of fluffy, chewy buckwheat groats that are tossed in a dressing infused with Ras-el-Hanout spice mix, you’re sorted for a balanced weeknight meal, with leftovers for your work or school lunches.

Ras-el-Hanout is a spice blend, North African in origin, that is composed of cumin and coriander seeds, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, turmeric, and cardamom. You can make your own blend, but for ease I’ve used a supermarket one for this recipe.

The dressing for the buckwheat is acidic and sweet at the same time, which really complements the mild spice and savouriness of the tomato chickpeas. It’s so warming and comforting.

The great thing about throwing a pile of veg into your dinners is that it makes it go a lot further. I originally thought this recipe would serve 2, but it stretched to 5 when I dished it up, so it’s ended up being really cheap to make. Who said that gluten-free cooking was expensive? The buckwheat might be on the pricier side compared to rice, for example, but you can easily substitute it for some gluten-free pasta and it’s just as good. I used buckwheat here to shake things up a little and to demonstrate that you don’t need to eat a monotonous diet.

A healthy peanut butter cup?? You only need 6 ingredients and around 30 minutes to prep, and you’ll have a whole tray of deliciously chocolatey cups with a melty peanut butter filling…

They are not a replica of Reese’s peanut butter cups because they have a date and nut base, rather than being fully enclosed in chocolate. The chocolate top has a delicate coconut undertone and has such a satisfying crack when you bite into it. They may look a li’l ugly in my photos but trust me, they are insane.

And forget the fact that they are a healthier alternative. They are just straight-up delicious so you should make them purely on that front. I have been trying to curb my chocolate addiction by vowing to myself that I will only eat desserts that I make myself, so no more buying big bars of Dairy Milk on deal and eating it in a day and and a half (if that). Having a few of these on hand in the freezer is a lifesaver – plus dark chocolate makes for a dairy-free, vegan alternative, and gives you a boost of antioxidants.

I can’t stop eating these and I know that you won’t be able to stop either. And it’s my birthday today, so I will be eating a lot of them!

When I was younger, I used to sit in the back of my parent’s car on the way home from my nanna’s house, eating plain boiled potatoes leftover from dinner. I am a potato fiend. Thank goodness they are naturally gluten-free!

Now, I am a fan of chip shop chips. But the risk of cross-contamination in many chip shops isn’t worth it. But you know what is worth the extra effort? These crispy potatoes.

When you make your own crispy potatoes at home, you can feel far more virtuous, and you can mix and match with whatever flavour combinations you like. I love tossing potatoes in a little bit of oil, turmeric, and smoked paprika.

There’s tons of recipes that tell you to faff around with peeling and par-boiling. For this recipe, you lock in all the nutrients from the potato skins (as well as reducing food waste!) by leaving them skin on. I wouldn’t recommend par-boiling these, because they only take 30-40 minutes in the oven anyway, and submerging them in water might lead them to become too moist to properly crispen up, unless you steam-dry them for a while. Plus the skins will end up falling off. Save the peeled and par-boiled sort for big occasions like Christmas dinner.

This may seem like a very basic recipe – which it is – but we serve these with so many different meals. Depending on the spices you use, you can serve it with eggs at breakfast; curry instead of rice; or use them to replace tortilla chips in nachos! It’s a basic essential that you need to have in your gluten-free cooking repertoire!

When I first moved out, my diet wasn’t great for a few months. Despite always being someone who eats breakfast in the morning, I was always starving by midday, making me hangry and likely to overindulge come lunch time. It didn’t help that my first flat was right above a fried chicken shop. Mmm, those mozzarella dippers…

I went on a health kick and embarked on a very calorie-restrictive diet for around 6 months. And without fail, I would have a bowl of porridge oats made with only water, topped with a banana and EXACTLY 80g of frozen summer fruits. It was 245 calories. Yes, healthy ingredients, but no, not filling enough. There must have been minimal amounts of protein in that breakfast bowl, so no wonder I was ravenous by 12pm.

I got fed up of my stomach rumbling in my lectures and stumbled across a few breakfast recipes online. I found a recipe for quinoa porridge by Chocolate Covered Katie. This became my new banana berry porridge. Bye-bye, rumbly tummy.

In the past few years, I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly to amp up its nutrient density, making it even more satiating. I have a big appetite! There is almost a whopping 15g of protein in a serving of this recipe – dang!

This recipe was influenced by a stuffing my mum made at Christmas one year following a Gordon Ramsay recipe. The stuffing had sundried tomatoes, chorizo, and cannellini beans in it. It was honestly the best stuffing I’d ever had. She made so much of it that I took some to work with me on Boxing Day.

In my quest to spice up my university packed lunches a bit, I want to recreate the stuffing but make it a bit more satiating as a meal in itself. It needed to be easy to prep and store in the fridge for a few days, and it needed to taste good enough that I wouldn’t get tired of eating it for 4 days in a row.

So off went my fourth year university self to Lidl, a safe haven for students. Jars of sundried tomatoes in oil and butter beans are cheap as chips in there. I had frozen quinoa in my flat and a bunch of random veg in my salad drawer that needed eaten up.

I think I originally had celery and leeks in this recipe, but to simplify things I’ve just kept carrots, red onion, and kale in this one to give it a splash of colour. This recipe is great because you can chuck whatever veg you like in it within reason and it’ll still be amazingggg. You can use either cannellini beans, white kidney beans, or butter beans in this recipe, it doesn’t really matter.

Sundried tomatoes and thyme make the ultimate savoury combination; the slight crunch from the carrots and onions complements the creaminess of the butter beans; and the lemon juice adds an extra zing right at the end. And don’t forget the garlic. With the addition of perfectly fluffy quinoa, this lunch (or dinner) is a well-balanced, filling meal packed with flavour.

Cook up your perfectly fluffy quinoa or use some you already have on hand.

Heat your pan on a medium high heat. Pour in the sundried tomato oil.

Sautee the onions and carrots for around 8 minutes until softened. If you find the carrots are too hard, pour a few tablespoons worth of water in the pan and cover with a lid, allowing them to soften with the steam.

Chuck in the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the sundried tomatoes and continue to gently saute for another 2 minutes.

Add the beans to the pan and cook for a few more minutes until the skins of the beans look as if they are beginning to blister and burst.

Toss in your kale and cook for around 4 more minutes.

Then add in your cooked quinoa, heat through for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mix through thoroughly.

A lot of shop bought salsas are packed with salt and sugar to preserve them. They can often be either overly spicy, or so bland and watery that you might as well have thrown a plain tin of chopped tomatoes in a bowl and called that salsa.

Now this isn’t a groundbreaking recipe but it is a handy one to remember. It’s also not limited to Mexican feast nights – venture out and spread some on toast and top with a fried egg, or top a savoury chickpea pancake with it!

I have made salsa with fresh red chilli before and I find it can be too overpowering and the heat isn’t evenly distributed, so I much prefer using pickled jalapenos. Plus, if you’re making my chunky guacamole, you’ll pretty much be using the exact same ingredients, so less to add to the shopping list.

The guacamole I remember from my childhood came in tex-mex dip selections from the supermarket. Laden with cream and pureed within an inch of its life, I was not a fan. So I assumed I didn’t like guacamole.

Fast forward to university and Mexican food was taking Glasgow by storm. Avocados were taking over the world. And being the massive foodie I am I cottoned on to the trend and invited my friends over for nachos with toppings made from scratch.

Now you may be reading this and thinking, “Guacamole isn’t that hard to make – why are you making such a fuss over this?” My first ever attempt at guacamole wasn’t great. I followed Jamie Oliver’s guacamole recipe that called for pulsing the mixture in a food processor. I ended up with a strangely dark green, almost brown mush. But it was spicy and delicious and I realised I liked guacamole.

Every time I make my new and improved guacamole recipe, everyone raves about it. For my engagement party, I made a massive bath of it, and when the tortilla chips ran out, people dived into the dip with a spoon. So I think you ought to try it too.

You barely need any ingredients or equipment to make good chunky guacamole, and it tastes so fresh and zingy compared to the supermarket tubs that you’ll never turn back.

Lentils are a protein powerhouse and they are dirt cheap. This is one of my favourite recipes because it is super easy, filling, flavourful, and healthy. Great if you’re a student. Great if you’re using up the dregs of your food cupboards. Great for meat-free Monday!

Many people associate lentils and rice with blandness. This recipe completely dispels that. All you need is a few basic spices.

Indian is Michael and I’s favourite cuisine, and it just so happens to consist of mainly gluten-free foods! In the future, I’d like to post recipes for gluten-free naan and chapatis, but for now, pimping up the rice with lime juice and fresh coriander really pulls the dish together.

Experiment with this recipe if you like! Add in any combination of veggies you fancy – cauliflower, sweet potato, kale… and be sure to tag me in any pictures of your creation on Instagram (@glutenfreegateway)!

To keep me going between classes, I used to have a Nakd bar. But at £2 a box for 4 wee bars, I couldn’t sustain that snack habit. I looked up recipes for homemade Nakd bars which were delish but a little crumbly.

The likes of Deliciously Ella have amped up the popularity of energy balls. The Internet is full of different variations, and here’s mine.

These balls take only 15 minutes to prepare (assuming you have popped amaranth already) and boast 3g protein and 2g fibre per 2 balls, ideal for a mid-morning or afternoon snack. I have tried to make energy balls without cocoa powder but I just don’t like them as much. When I want something sweet, I’m definitely a chocolate person. You can adjust this recipe to omit the chocolate flavour if that’s not your thing, but I need it.

This recipe is naturally sweetened using dates which are full of essential vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron, as well as providing a source of fibre that refined sugar lacks. The popped amaranth adds a popcorn-y, toasted flavour to the balls, which differentiates them from most other energy ball recipes. I used almonds in this recipe but you can play around with it and use another type of nut (or seeds like pumpkin and sunflower if you need to eat nut-free) instead, just keep the ratio of nuts intact.

These balls are perfect as snack, dessert, or a topping for smoothie or yoghurt bowls.

175g/ 1 cup of soft dates (soak in hot water for a few hours if too dry or hard)

1.5 tbsp cocoa powder

½ cup popped amaranth

Instructions

Blitz the almonds in a food processor until they are finely ground. Pour this into a separate bowl.

Pulse the dates in the food processor until they form a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the processor if necessary.

Add the now ground almonds back in alongside the cocoa powder. Pulse the mixture until well combined.

Add the popped amaranth in and pulse the mixture together again. To test if the mixture is firm enough to make the balls, break off some in your hand and squeeze together. If it sticks together, it is ready. If it is crumbly, you need more dates or a little bit of hot water.

Get a plate and spoon. Scoop out half a tablespoon worth of mixture and roll it into a small bowl. Repeat until you have approximately 16 small balls.

Keep in an airtight container in your fridge or freezer. I find mine last a month in the fridge.

I love Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Superfood book. It really has inspired a lot of the recipes I now cook. I love breaking my meals down into macronutrients and I always strive for balance, taking advantage of natural ingredients that pack the biggest flavours and health benefits. No restricting – just eating nutritious and delicious food. This book is influenced by diets all over the world, from communities where people live the longest, healthiest lives, based on very simple and nutritious ingredients.

Michael loves Jamie’s smoothie pancakes from that book – naturally sweetened with a banana (make sure it’s ripe, those green ones will do nothing!), everything is chucked in the food processor and it’s good to go. We make it the night before and quickly whip up a batch of pancakes on mornings before work and uni.

I’ve adjusted Jamie’s recipe to make it gluten-free and replaced the berries in his with orange and cardamom here. Cardamom is a spice that I always associated with savoury dishes, but over the past year or so, food blogs all over have been incorporating it into chia puddings and chocolate brownies. Food is amazing.

Orange and cardamom is a winning combo, and what better way to eat it, than in pancake form?

Blitz banana in food processor or mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth. Add to flour mix.

Add milk, eggs, and vanilla extract and blitz.

Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder and ground cardamom and blitz the mixture again until well combined.

Zest the oranges and add their juice to the mixture. Combine well.

Heat a pan on medium heat and grease with a little bit of oil, preferably coconut for flavour.

Use ¼ cup (or 2 heaped tablespoons) to measure out one pancake and dollop it in the greased pan. Depending on your pan size, you can do 2-4 at a time.

When the pancake top begins to bubble, it should be ready to flip. Cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes on the other side until nicely browned. Remove from the pan and place on a separate plate under a clean tea towel to keep warm. Repeat until all the batter is cooked.

Serve 3 pancakes per person and top with anything you like. I used fresh orange segments, pomegranate seeds, toasted pecan nuts and popped amaranth with a drizzle of maple syrup.

If you’ve never had harissa, you need to try this recipe. If you like harissa, you need to try this recipe.

Harissa is a Tunisian aromatic chilli paste which is fantastic for marinating meats. I also love to mix it with yoghurt or mayo as a dip or for spreading on burger buns. I make the marinade here by mixing it with minced garlic and lemon zest – my fave ingredients! It stains your hands for a little bit but it’s all good fun.

I’ve served this with feta and pomegranate quinoa salad and roast potatoes before, but this time I thought I’d shake things up and leave my beloved potatoes alone.

The polenta chips recipe is on my blog too so make sure you dabble in making some of those. They’re so crunchy and herby and are amazing with this dish. Unless you’re Michael and you squirt ketchup on the plate too for dipping – the absolute HORROR.

The massaged kale salad is a must if you’re feeling fancy, but you can substitute that for broccoli or asparagus too. Got to get your greens in there!

Prepare the polenta chips in advance, preferably the morning of, or day before, to allow your mixture to set and thaw.

Mix the ingredients for the harissa marinade and coat the lamb steaks thoroughly. Cover and place in the fridge for the flavours to infuse for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

For the kale salad, mix the salad marinade in a medium-sized bowl and toss in the raw kale. Give it a good mix with your hands, 'massaging' it all together until the kale softens and turns brighter green in colour. This process makes the raw kale less bitter and more palatable. Set the bowl in the fridge.

Around 30 minutes before you are ready to cook it, remove the lamb and kale salad from the fridge and your polenta from the freezer. Cut your polenta into chip slices.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. When it has heated, place your polenta chips in the oven as per polenta chips recipe instructions.

In a pan on a medium heat, fry the lamb leg steaks for 4-5 minutes on each side to brown.

Once browned, place the steaks in a glass baking dish along with the juices released, and bake for 20 minutes. The chips and steak should be ready at the same time.

Polenta chips are so deliciously crispy on the outside, whilst fluffy on the inside. If you’re willing to put in a little advance prep time for something different this weekend, then read on.

This recipe is for herby polenta chips, and the basis of the recipe can be found in my “How To Polenta” guide. After leaving the mixture in a baking tin in the fridge or freezer to firm up, you can slice them into even chip strips and bake ’til perfection. Yum.

Feel free to play around with the recipe – I used sage and oregano as the herbs in this mixture, and I made up the polenta base with vegetable stock, so it was quite salty. You could spice things up by mixing chilli flakes or sriracha through the mix, or some parmesan cheese and butter for an extra dose of richness. I was serving these with my harissa lamb and kale salad so I didn’t want them to overpower the other elements of the dish.

Michael and I’s relationship revolves around food and it always has. For our first few dates, Michael picked where we went to eat. On our first date, we went to Stereo, a 100% vegan cafe in Glasgow; date two was at the Butterfly and the Pig in Shawlands; our third outing was to La Boca, a Spanish tapas restaurant in the City Centre; but date four was my turn – Topolobamba, a Mexican street food restaurant.

Topolobamba ranks in my top 3 restaurants and it is great for gluten-free. The menu is marked according to what isn’t gluten-free, rather than what is. With sites in Edinburgh and Aberdeen too, you need to check this place out.

One of my favourite dishes on the menu is the chicken tinga tacos. The tacos are dainty and soft and 100% gluten-free. The chicken tinga is to die for – shredded chicken in a spicy and smokey chipotle tomato sauce. Perfection.

The Whole Foods near me has recently been shut down – one of the most devastating days of my life – but when it was in business, I used to get tins of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and green tomatillos, which are 2 primary ingredients in the authentic tinga recipe. The adobo peppers provide the spicy, smokey base and the tomatillos add a certain tartness to the recipe. Given that these ingredients are so difficult to come by, I thought I would adjust the recipe myself, based on this one, to make it more accessible.

So why not bring Topolobamba to you and cook up a batch of this chicken tinga to have at home? I served mine with a big ol’ baked sweet potato and some of my homemade oil-free mayo-free slaw but it can be used in so many different combinations – as an enchilada filling, on nachos, served with rice and guac, or in tacos like in Topolobamba!

Heat oil in a pot on a medium heat. Place all the chicken thighs skin side down and brown for 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the other. Remove from the pan and place on a plate set to the side. Keep the fat from the chicken in the pan.

Fry onion in the fat for around 8-10 minutes until softened.

Fry off garlic for a further 2 minutes, and then add the paste, puree and spices and cook through for a further 2 minutes.

Pour in the tinned tomatoes and heat through for a few minutes.

Take the pot off of the heat and use a hand stick blender to blitz the mixture into a smoother sauce.

Place the pot back on the heat and add the stock, lime juice, vinegar and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Nestle the chicken thighs in the sauce.

Once it's boiling, reduce to a simmer, and cook for around 20 minutes until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the chicken thighs again and with 2 forks, shred the meat off of the thigh bones. Discard the bones and add the shredded meat back to the sauce.